John Jay Karne
| cityofbirth = Cape Wells | countryofbirth = St. Gregory | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Forward | currentclub = | clubnumber = | youthyears = 1985-1993 | youthclubs = Cape Wells Wanderers | years = 1993-1998 1993-1994 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2006 2009-2012 2012 | clubs = Cape Wells Wanderers → CW Wanderers II → Poolesville (loan) Poolesville Bonneville United Dempo AFC Poolesville | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = 1996-2008 | nationalteam = India | nationalcaps(goals) = 27 (11) | manageryears = | managerclubs = }}John Jay Karne (born Sanjay Girish Karne; January 20, 1975) is an Indian-Gregorian former professional footballer and current pundit and commentator. A center-forward, Karne played most of his career in his native St. Gregory, most notably a seven-year stint at Bonneville United during which he won four League A titles and the Golden Boot in 2001-02. He represented the India national team 27 times in an international career spanning 12 years. Since his retirement, Karne has moved into working as a commentator and pundit covering League A matches for emsport. Early life Sanjay Girish Karne was born in Cape Wells to Ashvin and Priya, who had moved first from West Bengal in India to London in the early 1970s, and then to St. Gregory while it was still a British territory. He was given the anglicized name "John Jay" by his parents when enrolling him at school, as he was one of only a small number of Indian students at the school; he would later officially change his name to John Jay Karne after he turned 18. Karne took quickly to football and by age 10 had won a regional tournament with his school side, after which he was spotted by talent scouts from local professional club Cape Wells Wanderers. Club career Cape Wells Wanderers Karne joined the Wanderers Academy in the summer of 1985 and made his way through the youth ranks before signing a professional contract with the club on his 18th birthday; January 20, 1993. After one year with the reserve team, Karne moved up to the first team during the 1994-95 League A season, appearing in 11 matches and scoring twice. His first professional goal came on February 18, 1995, during a 3-2 home loss to CGC Red Stars. Wanderers were relegated to League B at the end of the season and although Karne was considered a potential transfer target, he remained at the club. Poolesville In August 1997, Karne was loaned to newly-promoted League A club Poolesville. He started all 30 league games for the club and amassed 18 goals to finish third in League A scoring and help the club to an 11th-place finish, securing their position in the top flight for the following season. Wanderers allowed Karne to move permanently to Poolesville on July 1, 1998, when both his loan spell and his contract with Wanderers had run out. He signed a one-year contract with Poolesville but as the club regressed in 1998-99, so did he. He would finish the season with 12 goals, six below his previous season's total, and Poolesville finished 15th and were relegated back to League B, marking Karne's second relegation in his career at just 24 years of age. Bonneville United Months of speculation about Karne's future ended when he joined Bonneville United on a free transfer on June 14, 1999, joining veteran Steve Stratton and Dutch import Jan van Amstel on a potent United strike force. Karne scored on debut for United, netting the opening goal of 1999-2000 in a 4-1 win over Union Town. He saw only limited playing time during the remainder of the season, however, as Stratton and van Amstel were manager Richard Berghuis' first choices. In all, Karne appeared in only 12 matches but scored five goals, helping United to their fourth League A title and Karne's first. Stratton and van Amstel both left United prior to the 2001-02 League A season, allowing Karne the opportunity to become the club's number one striker. United were dominant that season, going undefeated while winning 25 of their 30 league matches. Karne's 21 league goals that season gave him his first League A scoring title, and he added another two in SGFA Cup competition – including one in the final – as United won the league and cup double. Dempo In 2009, Karne signed a three-year deal with I-League club Dempo. His status as an Indian national team player meant he avoided being classed as a foreigner, which made him an even more attractive signing for the club. During the 2009-10 season, he appeared in 24 of Dempo's 26 league matches, scoring 8 goals and helping the club run away with the league title. In February 2011, Karne suffered an ankle sprain during a league match and missed most of the remainder of the season, however he returned for one more year in 2011-12 to help Dempo reclaim the I-League title they had lost the previous season. AFC Poolesville and retirement In 2012, at the conclusion of his contract at Dempo, Karne returned home to St. Gregory to join amateur club AFC Poolesville, who had been formed that summer by supporters of Karne's former team, Poolesville F.C.. The move was seen largely as a publicity stunt by the new club, but Karne played just three matches for the team, scoring in his final game against Clifftown Hawks on October 20, 2012. International career Although born and raised in St. Gregory, Karne elected to represent India, the country of his parents' birth. After football From 2015 to 2017, Karne worked as a part-time studio analyst for emsport's coverage of League A matches. In 2017, it was announced that Karne had been hired full-time by the network and would be serving as part of emsport's commentary team for the 2017-18 League A season. Category:Player pages Category:Bonneville United F.C. players Category:Cape Wells Wanderers F.C. players Category:People from Cape Wells Category:People from India Category:Retired players Category:Poolesville F.C. players Category:AFC Poolesville players